9 crimes
by Alexaa12
Summary: A terrible curse hangs on Stefan's shoulders: in order to be with his true love, Katherine, he has to commit 9 crimes. How will the vampire that has been running from blood for more than 4 centuries deal with this? How will things go when he will have to kill his brother? And what will happen when Kat's look-a-like, an 18 year old named Elena, will be his next target?-
1. Chapter 1

9 Crimes

By: Alexandra

First chapter: The one I love is gone

"This is disgusting, Stefan. Really, really disappointing... Just imagine that I am locked in a coffin and buried 2 metres in the ground because I had been stabbed by that little witch-and it was all your fault-think how my lips are frozen and my body is cold, think how for me time stopped and now I am just a livid corpse. You're tears aren't hot enough to melt this sorrow but their blood is. So go for them Stefan! Haunt them, deceive them, play with them, trick them and in the end kill!"

Katherine's voice was like a permanent echo in the back of his mind. He thought to himself "I am here because I am not where I want to be.." and he sighed. He washed his face, trying to calm down. The witch gave him a list of names-appereantly, the blacklist represented his salvation. Only one name sounded familiar to him-and that happened to be the name of his long-lost brother whom he hadn't seen for more than 4 centuries-but the rest represented only weird combination and he couldn't even pronounce them. He tried to open his mouth to pronounce one of them but all he could say was "C-c-car..lina". He couldn't understand why were those people guilty, why 9 human lives had to be stolen in order to please a dark force. Probably, where they lived, someone loved them, someone missed them. He had been human too, even tough that had been long ago, but he knew how feeling the sun touching your skin or how having your heart beating like the rhythm of a blue November rain felt like. And these treasures had been taken from him by too much pride. That's why he swore to never try or even think about doing something like this.

But this time it was about Katherine. She had been the only light, the only thing that helped him face all of this and she promised her to fight for them. He remembered how one Saturday night when they were in Spain she told him : "Just promise me forever." Bitter tears started raining down on him-this was more than a promise, it was like a shelter that made him feel safe-as long as he gave her the feel that time is theirs she would be his. How could he lie to those big brown eyes that reminded him of a clear night of June when the sky is full of stars ? There wasn't room for another choice so he picked up the phone, dialed a mobile number that was written on the paper and began talking to a girl:

"Umm, my name is Byron and I am a professional photographer. Caroline Forbes which I am talking to?" he asked.

"Oh, yes, yes, it's me!" the girl answered excited. He smiled, even tough he wasn't a good liar he managed to capture her attention. Come on Stefan, you know you have that Ripper in you!

"Glad to finally have the chance to find you! You know, I am coming in Forbes tomorrow and I was wondering if you wanted to be part of a new project." he continued, starting to feel relaxed, like it was in his nature to do that.

"A new project? Tomorrow? Umm..isn't it to soon? I don't know if I am prepared, I don't think I have enough time..You know, I have to go and do my make-up, cut my hair.."

"Ah, no, no, Miss Forbes, please, this project is based on taking pictures of girls that are naturally beautiful, that's why I picked you. No need to go and waste money on such useless things when you are s charming." he responded, knowing that this was what she wanted to hear.

"If you say so, Mr.."

"Byron Smith, but please, call me Byron. I saw some pictures of you on a site, I accidentally stumbled upon them, and I immediately knew that I had to include you in one of my photo shoots" he knew that she had already made up her mind about accepting her offer but at the same time she wanted to hear more, to be convinced that he is under her spell. So he told her what she wanted to hear in order to be totally sure that she won't start to doubt his intentions.

"Byron..I can't believe it. It's just to good to be true. Have you decided yet where the photo shoot is going to take place? Because I have some amazing ideas, I am so inspired now!"

"Yeah..I thought about a park, a sunny day, you know, something classic. But I am opened to any suggestions you have, I am sure a girl as beautiful as you is very creative too." he started to feel proud, he still hadn't lost his skills. It was starting to be too easy.

"I will think about them more and I will tell you what I have in mind for tomorrow. Should I dress in a fancy way?"

"No, absolutely no, wear something casual, something green if you want because it will make your eyes stand out. It's autumn, all the warm colors will make a nice contrast with it. So, I guess we will see each other tomorrow, around 12 o'clock, at the park, no?"

"Sure! I can't wait, I have to pinch myself. Just thanks for making my day!"

"Well, I will be the guy holding a camera so you will easily recognise me, okay?" he told her. After saying "good-bye" and complimenting her once again he hung up. He knew that Katherine must be proud of him so in order to continue making progresses he imagined how things will go tomorrow-the park is a public area and he didnt' want to draw attention. He read that Mystic Falls is a small town in Virginia so he could ask her to go to a place in the forest maybe and there he could kill them without fearing that someone will be watching him. For the first time since he started his mission, he felt relieved-there were definitely some chances, he knew that he could do this task. Of course, the begginging was the hardest-if he had to compare the slow motion of this he would say it reminds him of a cannonball that's drowning slowly into a thick water. Because it takes a long time, the cannonball feels that,firstly, someone is tickling her feet and then the tangling sensation would grow and raise, starting to take control over the floating body while its drift follows the slinky orbit of the dawn of its staccato breathing. Putting his head in his hands he groaned-hadn't it always been like this? Stefan Salvatore, the shy son of a small Italian bargainer, the boy that always seemed to have a sparkle in those big eyes that resembled the shinning of an emerald. Still, appearances are deceiving. Behind that flame, a gloomy human being was hiding. Yes, it had always been like this, he suffered from a restless heart, the world and his soul reunited only in the trembling shades of a continuous discord between a hard and well-defined substance and a mixed essence of a degenerated spirit. Because that is what he was-an undefined reflexion. Damned to be the one that suffers, damned to be the one that had never been understood. And they didn't know how it felt to reach this state of mind where there's no turning back point. At least, he had periods of time when he could pretend that he was a positive person, when things seemed to be better and it was all because of Katherine. That's why he has to save her, to fight. There was no point in holding to an empty eternity, a bitter load of nothing.

XXX

Sunday days in Mystic Falls are all the same-like a Seurat painting. Little points and dusk specks composing a picture that hide the static and boring lives which tried to fit in the „picture-perfect" stereotype. This cloudy afternoon was no exception-you could even feel in the air how all the perfection tended to hang on your shoulders, making you part of it too. As Stefan was looking for a girl dressed in green he was something and he couldn't believe his eyes...

A/N: So, this is the first chapter. Love it, hate it, tell me how hard it sucked or if it was pretty decent, i will appreciate any reaction you have. I promise you that next time I will improve every aspect and I will work to make it better. Thanks for checking it out !


	2. Chapter 2:Boiling points

9 Crimes, Chapter 2:

By: Alexandra

There it was a girl that looked exactly like Katherine-but he could sense that she was human. Still, they looked exactly the same: big, expressive and heart-melting deer eyes, rosy cheeks, a pretty button nose and long brown hair. The sound of her heart beating started to echo in his ear. She had gracious moves and an aura of sadness seemed to roll down her long, thick black lashes. Why would a girl beautiful as her hide even the slightest glimpse of sadness? He couldn't help but study her for a long time. She didn't seem to notice, she was reading calmly from her book. He began to smile-for some reasons, this girl who looked exactly like his lost lover made him want to hug her tight .

What he didn't know was that the mysteriously copy of Katherine was fully aware of his presence. While he was wandering the alleys she watched him, hoping to could look in those green eyes for a moment. embarrassed by the fact that a stranger intrigued her so much, she decided to show that she wasn't interested but she was still catching a glimpse with the tail of her eye. Tall, brown hair, almond eyes and a beauty that reminded her of the stone figures of the Italian Renaissance-a ravishing mix that took her breath away. Going to talk with him, maybe asking if he had a clock or saying that she hadn't seen him around wasn't an option because she wasn't that brave. So all she had was hoping that the moment would last longer.

And even tough Stefan could read her mind, his senses stopped responding and working. That was a picture worth taking-the girl who seemed drowned in her own thoughts, looking so calm and balanced. What was on her mind at that time? How would the melancholic shades in her eyes play while the light of the dawn is complimenting them?

Even tough the moments seemed to last for an eternity for both, Elena suddenly started to fear him. Boys like him weren't in her league-probably he was full of himself and laughing in the back of his mind at her clumsiness. He bit her lip-Marvelous Elena, are you ever going to learn your lesson? Shutting the book she left, knowing that running from that green glance was the good thing to do. Elena Gilbert, a senior at The Mystic Falls Highschool, was known as the shy and insecure girl. There was a time when she was part of the popular gang but ever since her parents died in a car crash she started to avoid contact with her old friends. Despite her good looks, rumour had it that she is clumsy and lost when it comes to relationships and dating, maybe this was why usually boys avoided her.

After she walked away, Stefan had a bitter-sweet feeling. Maybe meeting this girl was no coincidence, maybe it was a sign that he was getting closer and closer to rescuing Katherine. He waited a bit for his first victim to show up and after he suggested „going somewhere more special" he finally managed to kill her.

Around 7 pm Elena went to meet her friend Bonnie at The Mystic Falls Grill. Usually they would go and hang out at one's of them place on Friday nights but this time they decided to go for a change. When she entered the bar she saw that the table where the popular ones from her highschool would hang out was empty.

„Finally Elena!"

„Sorry, I had to help Jenna clean after Jeremy, these days he has been a total mess.. Anyway, do you know what's going on? Where's the Lockwood gang?" Elena asked. Bonnie didn't seem to pay attention to her.

„Come on Bonnie, don't tell me you are still thinking about him!" she yelled, making some people turn their heads. „You know...guys like Kol Mikaelson are way out of your league..or mine." she tried to seem encouraging but after she stopped she figured out that it wasn't the right thing to say. „I mean you deserve way better than him, have you seen how he is hitting on all those dumb cheerleaders...what was their name..Caroline and Rebekah?"

„Yeah Elena, if you remember this is the reason we broke up." Elena regretted that she couldn't make Bonnie feel better-not having too much experience with boys made it nearly impossible to say the right things. What did she know about mending broken hearts since she had never had one?

„Caroline is dating his brother, Klaus, so this is a sign of how low he can get..." Elena tried for the last time to give Bonnie reasons to consider Kol a lost cause.

„By the way, moving on from this, that guy over there is one thing to pay attention too!" Bonnie almost screamed. Shocked, Elena turned her head fast to see who was the guy. She was surprised to see the same guy from the park. This time he was wearing a green sweater that matched his eyes. She couldn't help and whispered „wow".

Maybe this time she could go and ask him if he is new and if he needed someone to show around. Of course, probably lots of girls had already asked him but she could pretend that she was only a friendly one.

„Hey, what's up with that look?" Bonnie asked, becoming suspicious.

„Nothing, it's just that I saw him in the park today too. I think he is new in town."s he mumbled, still thinking how to catch the guy's attention. He was sitting at the bar, waiting for Jeremy to bring his order.

„Wait a minute, I am going to order something else". She went to the bar-luckly, the chair next to him was free.

„Hey Jer, one Apple Ramassetto please." she said.

„Hey, I was going to order the same thing. Anyway, is it any good?" he asked casually.

„Yea, it's not like I am ordering it every time I come here but it's one of my favs." she answered, being surprised that it was actually easy to talk to him. She liked the fact that he seemed to be very out-going and relaxed.

„Thanks for the suggestion, make it two then." he smiled. Wait, was it something in his eyes or..was he flirting with her?

„Good choice..I assumed it had been made by a good guy" he smiled and she decided to leave. The ridiculous attempt to flirt made her back down . She returned to Bonnie's table and even tough her friend kept talking about Kol-appereantly she lost her interest in Stefan quickly-she couldn't stop thinking about the moment they shared. No, there must have been a way to catch his attention in a positive way. Maybe it was the time she started having fun and interacting more with boys-damn it, she was 17, she couldn't hide from boys for all her life!If this guy was in Mystic Falls for a short time, then she had to give him something memorable and to break from her bell jar.

Suddenly, she noticed that it was a karaoke night. „It's crazy, it's stupid, it's totally not me, it's impulsive and reckless...let's do it!". You know those moments when you feel it, you feel like doing something just because its vision gives you the strength to overcome your weak points. That's what Elena Gilbert felt then. After she took the microphone the words simply busted from her mouth and she stopped thinking about time, place, people or the sound of the glasses that bumped against eachother.

And Stefan, the mysterious guy that was sitting alone in a corner really enjoyed her moment. He thought to himself „Elena Gilbert, a beautiful name for a..good girl". He left after she finished singing. Unbelievably, but to his way back..home he started humming. Even after he arrived and he cut the name „Caroline Forbes" from his black-list those lyrics still echoed in his mind. H e said to himself that it was enough for today, done with scheming. Tomorrow he would think about his next move because for once in a long time he felt relaxed. At least this missionary status had some...good parts. He studied the list again-Caroline Forbes, Bonnie Bennet, Alaric Saltzman, Matt Donovan, Tyler Lockwood, Glenn Vaughn-in the end those were only some letters and some sounds that didn't have any sentimental value for him. And of course the other three would be the same. He read them too - Damon Slavatore, Elena Gilbert and Kol Mikaelson. He had to read them multiple times to believe it but he still couldn't accept the fact that the name of his brother, of the girl that he had just met and the one of the most feared vampires were supposed to mean nothing to him.

A/N: So, this is chapter 2. Not a lot of action, I know, but I wanted to introduce some characters and to clarify some things about them. I know it is confusing so if you would let me know what doesn't work i would gladly appreciate your help, Thanks for reading!:):D


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